Hi Carlos,
 
I have, in fact, started to take notice of what's blooming in about a 2
mile radius from my home.  I just noticed today that there are a ton of
eucalyptus trees, and I'm sure my bees are going to find them!  You also
make a good point that my bees may very well decide to go outside my garden
to eat, but I am now beginning to realize that I think there's a lot more
forage out there for them than I originally thought.
 
The Buckfast bee is a bee that was bred by Brother Adam in Buckfast Abbey,
in England.  Apparently, the Buckfast is one of the most gentle bees
around, as well as being a good honey producer.  I thought it would be a
good place to start for me.  I ordered my packages through B. Weaver in
Texas, and I am eagerly awaiting getting started.
 
Thanks for your advice!
 
----------
> From: Carlos Aparicio <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Looking for California Bee Forage Plants
> Date: Monday, November 17, 1997 8:00 PM
>
> Dear Mary:
>         Your new bees can have different ideas from yours, on their own
food.  In
> facts they will seek their  feed in a radio of some two miles as of your
> backyard  and if the things do not go very well, the radio can very well
to
> arrive to the four or five miles.
>         One of the most rewarding and usefully task in the beekeeping is
doing an
> inventory of trees, plants and flowers in that radio.
>         The eucaliptus is a tree specially good for bees, and different
varieties
> (there are about 500) will flower at different months of the year.-  In
my
> area, eucaliptus is by far the most important source of floral feed for
bees.-
>         by the way, I would like hear something about the buckfast bee.
We work
> here with apis mellifera mellifera.-
>
>         Good luck and enjoy your new activity.
>
>
>
>         Carlos Aparicio
>
>
>
> At 11:17 PM 15/11/1997 -0800, Patrick & Mary Caldwell wrote:
> >Hello all...
> >
> >I am a "newbee" who will be starting my first hives (Buckfast) in the
> >Spring here in Northern California (northeast San Franciso Bay area).  I
> >will be putting the hives in my backyard, which isn't very large.  Even
so,
> >I have a pretty nice garden, and have taken a great deal of care in
> >selecting plants that will attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, etc.
> >
> >There are a lot of interesting plants in our area (we have star thistle
not
> >too far away on the local hills,